Title
Consider sending letters to the State Water Resources Control Board Division of Water Rights and the Shandon-San Juan Water District/Shandon-San Juan Groundwater Sustainability Agency (“Shandon”) opposing the applications filed by Shandon to appropriate water from the Nacimiento and Salinas Rivers.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the County of Monterey Board of Supervisors and the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Supervisors:
Consider sending letters to the State Water Resources Control Board Division of Water Rights and the Shandon-San Juan Water District/Shandon-San Juan Groundwater Sustainability Agency (“Shandon”) opposing the applications filed by Shandon to appropriate water from the Nacimiento and Salinas Rivers.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
Under California law, the State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) regulates all post-1914 appropriative water rights. This process includes the issuance of new water rights, and the licensing and monitoring of water put to beneficial use.
The predecessor to the Monterey County Water Resources Agency (“MCWRA”) elected to construct Nacimiento Reservoir and San Antonio Reservoir to meet the existing and future demands of the Salinas Valley, and filed water right applications for each (in 1954 and 1955, respectively). Shortly after the two reservoirs were constructed, the two water rights permits were fully licensed by the State of California. An additional water rights application was filed in 1996 for additional storage at Nacimiento Reservoir. A summary of the licenses and permits related to the Nacimiento Reservoir, held by the MCWRA is as follows:
- License 7543 for Nacimiento Reservoir was filed in 1954 and issued on November 4, 1965. It includes a collection to storage of 350,000 acre-feet per year with a maximum withdrawal of 180,000 acre-feet per year.
- Permit 21089 for Nacimiento Reservoir was filed in 1996 and issued on Ma...
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